Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-01-03
SPYING OUT THE LAND.
The Prosperity in Southern CaUfcrni
and what prcaucad IT

! week, and IN response to inquiries plled
concerning that portion of the State and
| the prosperity there Astounding, said
The southern part of this State has GER
tainly been having boom for number of
years, with result of a remarkable in
crease in population and wealth. The
methods that bring such results are worth
! the attention of other sections seeking for
more capital or more people. 1t was with
a view Of studying these methods that |
visited the southern part of the State. |
found that the accounts of the boom had
not been exaggerated. In fact, the growth
of that section in population, wealth, trade
and manufactures IS even greater than has
been represented.
Los Angeles may be taken as an example
of what is being done in that region. Six
teen years ago that place was a small
struggling town of 1000 inhabitants. 1t
| was half Spanish and half American. II
was grazing center, and its streets were
filed with cowboys. sheepherders, and
| broncho riders. As trade center it ranked
| with the smaller towns of the central and
| northern counties. The country surround
ing that cow-town was held in large tracts,
to the exclusion of those who wanted
| small tracts of land 1t is said that so I'M
| profitable were these large land holdings
| that many of them were mortgaged TO San
| Francisco capitalists, and eventually taken
by them to satisfy their claims. This led
| in many instances, to their subdivision and
| sale in small lots. However this may be,
about ten years ago the soil and climate of
all the country south of the Tehachepi
range began to attract attention, and capl-
tai and population moved in that direction
By 1880, Los Angeles had grown to a
place of IL ,000 and had assumed the char
! Sti nf
Since that year the whole of that southern
section has had steady stream of immi-
grants of the better class. 1t is now eSti-
mated that Los Angeles has 1900 people
and from limited observation l should
say that 80, 900 is a moderate estimate. 1t
has become great railroad and dis ribu-
ting center for all that southern country
including Arizona and some portions of
Mexico.
The population of the county of Los An
geles has increased in six years from 81 600
to 100000. The taxable wealth of Los An
geles county six years ago was $13,000.000;
now it is Sal 0000 In 1880 the taxable
property of the city was s., 250,0 COO; now it
is SIS, 100000.
In the places of the old one-story Mexi-
can adobe buildings there are whole streets
of fine brick blocks. The street-car lines
extend from northeast to southwest six
miles, and there are two cable roads run
ming at right angles to the horse railways
In the five counties comprising Southern
California there are more than 200. large
tracts that have been divided and are being
sold in small lots to suit the purchaser.
Some of these have attracted some thou
sands of people and large amounts of CAPT
tai, and have grown beyond mere colonies,
becoming cities. OF this class Riverside
and Pasadena are illustrations. Some idea
of the numbers of people going to that
county and the purchases of real estate by
them may be found by the real estate trans
actions in Los Angeles. There are in that city
LIS licensed real estate firms and there must
be several hundred people whose sole oc-
cupation is dealing in landed property.
For the past twelve months the sales of
real estate in Los Angeles county reached
the enormous sum of S27 100000. The
business development of that city has been
SO rapid that it has outgrown the present
postal facilities. Within four months the
number of carriers has been increased from
eight to fourteen and that number are I'M
able to do the work. There are fifteen
hundred Postoffice boxes and FIVE hundred
applications for boxes on file. Every week
now a thousand orders are received for
changes of delivery of mail and for for
warding it. The numbers of people going
daily into Los Angeles are very large
During one week of last December ten
thousand people arrived there on the over
land trains. In every direction from this
center there are thriving settlements. In
the San Gabriel valley, within distance of
twenty miles. there are twelve fourishing
colonies. Pasadena has grown in three
years from a mere village to q
city of 5000 people. / was told there that
500 mechanics were constantly employed in
| hot MI hot -,
ployed if lumber could be obtained. So
great has been the increase in the popula-
ton and trade of the San Gabriel valley
that q second railroad has been built
through it, and third is in course of con-
struction.
A volume would not contain all that
might be said of the results Of the boom
there. 1t should be stated, however, that
if anybody is of the opinion that the
boom " there is only temporary one, he
will soon see his mistake There is a
country south of the Tehacehpi range
larger than the Empire State, and there are
large tracts of rich, arabic lands that still
await the settler. That area is capable
when properly developed, of sustaining
100000 people. There are many thou
sands OF people in all the Eastern States
and Territories who are anxious to escape
from the terrors and expressions of their
winters, and these will come in a vastly
increased volume for years hereafter. In
my opinion the boom there will be greater
tea years hence than now.
The means used TO bring about these
great results are what are of the most in
terest to US here in Central California. In
all instances when land has been sub
divided and offered for sale water has been
brought to each twenty acres, and the title
to the land carried the title to the water
in perpetuity. Wherever the newcomer
settled he had neighbors settling around
him and their labors helped to enhance the
value of his land. In no instance has the
home-seeker been invited to go on to dry
plain and put his means into land and i'm
provements. and there starve while his
vines and trees are growing to bearing
age. In many instances there the land
owners have not only brought the water 70
the land and sold it with the land, but
they have planted miles of trees
along the avenues, and also built
hotels stores and other buildings,
spending thousands of dollars before the
land was offered for sale. In one instance
land company expended 100000 in
ditches buildings and other improvements
before an acre was sold, and the company
made million dollars by its enterprise
In my opinion it will be necessary for the
money Ol ILLS pOILlOl Vi Tie otdte 10 Inter
est itself in putting tracts of land in
: proper shape for settlement before
there can be any boom here There is
plenty of land here, plenty of water
and plenty of money to bring them to-
gether, and it will be necessary TO have this
done before we can attract people from the
southern part Of the State, where all this
has been done in hundreds OF cases. l am
satisfied that we must create any boom we
J are to have here, and il cannot be done
without the lands are prepared to properly
settle the people who may come, and that
requires energy, enterprise and capital.
DR.. Latham states that he was received,
wherever he went in the southern part of
the State, with the utmost cordiality. and
he heard no expressions of jealousy towards
other portions of the State. The people
down there, he says, greatly enjoy the
boom they have, and are willing to see
Others have the same prosperity. They af-
forded him every facility to obtain fullest
information as to the methods that have
been and are being employed to carry on
their immigration work, and the newspa-
pers sought information concerning Central
California with q view TO giving the facts
) to their readers.